Power Tarrif Increase Not to Raise Inflation: Minister

Jakarta (Antara) - Finance Minister Chatib Basri said the impact of electricity tariff increase for industries and household consumers would not boost inflation and it could be controlled until the end of the year. "The impact of the electricity tariff increase would not be big. It is predicted at a range of between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent only," the finance minister said. The predicted low impact had not led the government to reconsider its inflation rate assumption in the state budget 2014 set at 5.3 percent, he said. "Its impact is not too big so that the inflation rate is predicted to remain at a range of 5.5 percent," he said. (*)